The battlefield roared around them — a living storm of chaos and death.
Lilith braced beside him, eyes burning with defiance. She tightened the bloodied shard in her hand.But Nox wasn't looking at the monsters.He was staring at the battlefield itself.
The Pit was suppressing their mana. Yet the beasts still fought with reckless, magical abandon — claws wreathed in flame, wings slicing the air like blades, bodies shifting between shadow and steel.
It was deliberate.
Nox's mind spun, threading pieces together like broken glass.
The Pit demands blood.It seals our mana.It wants us to break.
Gritting his teeth, he scanned the canyon. Blood oozed from his mouth, dark and misty.
"I can't fight them like this," he muttered. "Without my mana, I can't negate the poison in the air… Even if I was at full strength, I couldn't win this fight."
Lilith's voice cut through the noise.
"I have no choice, Nox."
"Wait," Nox's eyes narrowed. "I have an idea. Magicians trick people by controlling what they focus on — they draw attention to one hand while the other does the real work."
Lilith's hand trembled.
"Nox… I might not be able to calm down after this. So try your best to survive."
"What—"But before he could finish, a beast lunged toward them, massive and feral.
In one swift motion, Nox drove his sword into the ground, flinging up a surge of dust. The thick cloud blinded the charging beast.A flash of silver — Nox's blade arced clean through the wolf-like monster's throat. The creature stumbled out of the dust, blood spraying, before collapsing in silence.
As the dust settled, the surrounding creatures hesitated.They were gone.
The moment his blade struck, the dust engulfed them both.Calculating, steady, Nox stepped sideways, tracking where the beast would land. The wolf never saw the sword that cut its life away.
Without wasting a second, he grabbed Lilith's arm and pulled her into a sprint—moving opposite the beast's charge. They darted through the confusion, the dead wolf's body drawing the attention of the others.
Spotting a narrow crevice in the canyon wall, Nox shoved Lilith inside. A hidden cave swallowed them both.
Inside the shadows, Lilith finally exhaled.
"Here. We can rest… You don't look so good."
Nox stumbled, coughing violently. Dark blood poured from his lips.
"Yeah… I'll rest for a bit."He collapsed. Lilith barely caught him.
"Damn it," she whispered. "The poison's eating him alive. I don't know how he even managed to run like that..."
When Nox opened his eyes again, only blackness surrounded him.
"You're finally awake," Lilith whispered beside him.
He tried to sit up—but a searing pain shot through his chest.
"You shouldn't move. The poison's still in your system… your body hasn't adapted. You'll need days to recover."
"Yeah," Nox rasped. "That's how it feels..."
But before he could finish the thought — something pierced through his chest.
A clean hole, straight through his heart.
He gasped in confusion, his eyes widening — only to see Lilith's body collapse beside him, her chest punctured the same way.
Neither had seen it.Neither had sensed it.No warning. No sound. Just death.
Blood pooled around their bodies.The silence was total.
Nox's eyes snapped open again.
He was no longer in the cave.
They stood together at the bottom of the endless staircase — back where they first entered the Pit.
Around them, the monstrous battle raged on.Lilith stared, wide-eyed, clutching her chest.
"Did we… just die?"
Nox's hand slowly touched his own heart — whole again.
"I... I don't know. How does this make any sense?"
A deep, mechanical roar echoed from every direction, vibrating through the air like a living pulse:
"Number of deaths: 2. Remaining number of demons: 24,998."
Lilith and Nox froze. The voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, as if the Pit itself were speaking.
Nox's eyes narrowed.
"That was... the Pit.""Whatever just happened — we died. But somehow... we're still here."
He looked around the battlefield again. The monsters clashed endlessly in the distance, uncaring, as if nothing had happened.
Lilith's voice trembled.
"The number started at twenty-five thousand. Does that mean we have to kill that many demons before we can leave?"
Nox's stomach twisted.
"Either that… or we'll keep dying until we do."
But as they stood there, catching their breath, more questions gnawed at Nox's mind.
How exactly does this work?
Did they rewind time every time they died? Or did they simply return to the starting point—reset in space, but not in time? What would happen if Lilith died while he survived? Would she be sent back alone? Or would they both be forced back together?
There were too many unknowns.
Damn it, he thought. We don't have time to figure this out.
A sharp pain still throbbed in his chest, but it was duller now. Manageable.
Wait… my body... it feels better.
He flexed his fingers, testing his joints. The stiffness from the poison was significantly reduced, as though his system had partially adapted.
Is this... a side effect of dying? Are we somehow growing stronger after every death?
His moment of reflection was shattered by a sharp cry overhead.
KAH-KAH!
A fiery blur shot down from the sky—a large bird demon, its wings wreathed in flame, diving straight for Lilith.
"Lilith, move!"
She dodged sideways just in time, the burning talons slamming into the ground where she had stood. Embers scattered into the air.
"No time to think," Nox growled.
He quickly scanned their surroundings. The open battlefield was a deathtrap — no cover, no safety. A few caves dotted the canyon walls, but even that was a gamble. The caves were likely infested with demons, and now it seemed the monsters had fully locked onto their presence.
They're actively hunting us now. The Reaver was just the beginning.
As if on cue, another screech echoed—more winged demons circling overhead, their eyes glowing with primal hunger.
The battlefield was shifting.
Nox's eyes darted between the circling winged demons, the distant monsters still locked in battle, and the jagged canyon walls. His initial instinct screamed to find cover — the caves seemed like the only option.
But something gnawed at the back of his mind.
Wait…
The caves.The strange demon had appeared from the darkness. In the cave when they were hiding
The caves aren't safe.
If anything, they were worse than the open battlefield.
The Demon didn't hesitate to attack us inside the cave. The instant we let our guard down—it struck. There's no safety in hiding. No safe zones. No resting. Only the fight.
The realization slammed into him like a blade to the gut.
This trial isn't about surviving. It's not about escape. The Pit doesn't want us to hide—it wants us to shed blood. To fight. To kill. To evolve.
His thoughts raced.
That's why the poison weakens after we die. That's why our bodies feel stronger. It's forcing us to adapt. The only way forward is through blood and death.
"Lilith," Nox said, voice cold and steady.
"What?" she gasped, ducking another swooping demon overhead.
"We can't run. The caves are worse than out here."
"What are you talking about?! We'll be torn apart if we stay out here!"
Nox met her eyes.
"The Pit doesn't want us hiding. Every time we retreat, stronger creatures come for us. It's forcing us into the open. The only path forward is to fight them head-on."
Lilith stared at him, wide-eyed, as the realization sank in.Her hands trembled slightly.
"Fight them? There's thousands of them!"
"Exactly." Nox's voice was grim. "That's why the counter said twenty-five thousand. The trial isn't to survive — it's to kill. It's forging us into something else, something stronger — but only if we bleed enough."
"This is insane," Lilith whispered.
"It is," Nox agreed, raising his sword. "But we don't have a choice."
Another bird demon shrieked and dove.Nox pivoted, his blade slicing upward. The steel cleaved through the creature's wing, sending it spiraling into the dirt. Without hesitation, he drove his sword through its chest.
One down.
The crimson voice of the Pit echoed again, as if mocking them:
"Remaining number of demons: 24,997."
Lilith flinched at the announcement.
"It counts every single one…" she whispered.
The other creatures seemed to sense the shift in Nox's resolve.
The circling bird demons screeched and dove together now, coordinating their attacks. A wave of claws and fire came from all directions.
Nox planted his feet and moved.
He cut left, blade flashing, severing a wing; then ducked low, rolling beneath flaming talons. His movements were cleaner than before — faster. His reflexes sharper.
Lilith followed close behind, slashing with her bloodied shard, managing to catch one demon across its eye.
Another dropped toward her blind spot.
"Behind you!"
Nox lunged, shoulder-slamming Lilith aside and catching the beast mid-dive. His blade drove upward into its chest, skewering it in the air. Blood rained down as the demon spasmed, impaled.
"Remaining number of demons: 24,996."
The counter ticked again.
It's working, Nox realized.With every fight… we're adapting. Growing faster. Stronger. The poison's effect keeps dulling. This place really is forging us. The only currency it demands is blood.
"Lilith!" he shouted. "Stay moving! Stay aggressive! We can't give them time to regroup!"
Her face was pale but determined.
"Right!"
They moved together now, two figures dancing in a sea of death. Every slash, every kill, made the Pit's counter tick down — slowly, but relentlessly.
Far above, something shifted again.
The Abyssal Reaver watched from the canyon cliffs.
Its many crimson eyes followed their every move, tracking them with cold precision.
Unlike the lesser beasts, it did not interfere.
It studied.
Calculated.
The prey is learning.
The Pit had much larger plans.
Hours passed like minutes, as Nox and Lilith fought with everything they had.The once overwhelming terror began to shift into something colder inside Nox — focus. Calculation. Precision.
He was no longer fighting to survive.He was fighting to dominate.
But exhaustion was creeping in.
Their breathing grew heavier. Their strikes slower. The number of demons barely seemed to change.
At this rate… we'll collapse long before we reach zero.
The sky shifted.
Dark clouds swirled above, pulsing with crimson lightning. The air grew heavier again, denser. And in the distance, massive new shadows began to stir.
The next wave was coming.
Nox stared ahead, gripping his blade tighter.
Lilith swallowed hard.